Knitting & Crochet

Knitted and felted flower pillow

Knitting & Crochet

Knitted and felted flower pillow

No shaping and some very simple colour changes make this project a great candidate for a beginning knitter. The pillow stands alone as an elegant silhouette, or it can be jazzed up with this trio of five-petal flowers, formed using short rows.

If you're a new knitter and find the colour work daunting, skip it, and make three Simple Flowers instead.

Plan of action The
pillow is knit in two separate pieces in straight stockinette stitch. The pieces are seamed prior to felting. The short-row flowers are a fast and fun way for a beginner to learn the short-row technique.

Knitting the pillow front Note: Be sure to wrap the new yarn around the old when changing colours across the rows.

Knitting the simple flower Note: The petal shaping on this simple flower is achieved through short-row shaping.

Set up: Using CC, cast on 50 stitches.
Short rows: K8, *turn, P5, turn, K6, turn, P7, turn, K16; repeat from * 4 more times. On the last repeat, end by knitting to the end of the row instead of K16.
Row 1: *P3, P2tog; repeat from * to end of row. You now have 40 stitches.
Row 2: *K2tog, K2; repeat from * to end of row. You now have 30 stitches.
Row 3: *P1, P2tog; repeat from * to end of row. You now have 20 stitches.
Row 4: K2tog to end of row. You now have 10 stitches.
Break yarn, leaving long tail, thread the yarn through a yarn needle, then draw the yarn back through stitches. Remove stitches from needle, and pull tail tight to close (like a purse string). Use the tail to seam flower along side edge to make centre into a circle. Weave in all ends.

Knittingthe striped flower Note: When knitting the two striped flowers, be sure to wrap the
new yarn around the old when changing colours across the rows.

Set up: Using MC, cast on 50 stitches.
Repeat Short rows and Rows 1-4 for Knitting the simple flower, with this exception: Use CC for every knit stitch and MC for every purl stitch, even when you are working the short rows. Carry the colour not in use across the back as you work.
Finish as for Knitting the simple
flower.

Knitting the striped petal flowerSet up: Using MC, cast on 50 stitches.
Short rows: Repeat Short rows for Knitting the simple flower, with this exception: Work 2 stitches in MC, then work 2 stitches in CC. Continue alternating MC and CC, working all MC with MC and all CC with CC until you complete the short rows.
Rows 1-4: Change to CC and repeat Rows 1-4 for Knitting the simple flower.
Finish as for Knitting the simple flower.

Finishing the flowers If desired, add French knots to the centres of the flowers. You can pile them up or place one in the middle.

Seaming the pillow Place the front and back of the pillow together with right sides facing each other, and use matching thread to seam along all four edges, leaving a 3" (7.5 cm) opening at any corner for filling.

Page 1 of 2 -- Find out how to add the finishing touches to your felted flower pillow on page 2Felting the pillow1. Felt following "My basic felting technique" on page 2. Place the
flowers in a mesh laundry bag or a tied pillowcase so you don't lose them in the wash. Place the pillow directly in the basin. I tend to underfelt this pillow a bit so that it doesn't get too stiff. Pull the pillow out when the stitch definition has mostly disappeared and it is approximately the same size as the finished measurements listed above.

2. Rinse by hand in cool water and squeeze out excess water by rolling in a terry-cloth towel.

3. Lay the pillow flat to dry, which can take up to two days -- less if you place it in a warm room. Don't lay it in the sun, however, as the colours may fade. Make sure the pillow is completely dry before stuffing it.

Sewing on the flowers Arrange the flowers however you like: clustered to the side, three in a row, one in each corner, or in a diagonal line. Pin in place and attach the flower centres to the pillow using a yarn needle and matching yarn.

My basic felting technique Legend has it that the Huns discovered felting when they used layers of wool for their saddles. The agitation, heat and sweat generated on an all-day ride produced a felt so tightly entwined it was waterproof. You'll employ a different method for felting. It will be just as effective, but you don't need a horse -- just a washing machine. It doesn't matter what kind of washing machine it is, as long as it runs hot
water, has a high agitation cycle, and can be stopped in the middle of the cycle so you can check your work.

1. Prepare the item. Begin by preparing your item for felting. Make sure the ends are
securely woven down. If necessary, knot the ends on the back so they don't come undone during felting, which will cause holes. If you're working with a seamed piece, make sure the seams are smooth and not puckered before felting.

2. Set up the washig machine. Set your machine to "hot" on a low-water, high-agitation cycle. Let the basin fill with hot water.
3. Agitate and check. When the agitator starts moving, add the piece. It will take a few minutes for the piece to show signs of shrinkage. Once it does, check it often, at least every one or two minutes. Don't let the piece go through the spin cycle. If the agitation cycle is done and the piece still isn't felted, manually reset your machine to go through the agitation cycle again without letting it go through the spin cycle.
4. Remove when done. Pull the piece out when it reaches the desired size and texture.
5. Rinse and squeeze. Rinse by hand in cool water, and squeeze out excess water by rolling the piece in a terry-cloth towel.
6. Shape. Follow the shaping directions for your pattern.

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Excerpted from Felt It! 20 Fun and Fabulous Projects to Knit & Felt by Maggie Pace, published by Storey Publishing, available in Canada wherever books are sold. Copyright 2006 by Maggie Pace. Excerpted with permission of Storey Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.

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Culture & Entertainment

Nelly Furtado helps us be a little greener

Culture & Entertainment

Nelly Furtado helps us be a little greener

The singer-songwriter and philanthropist comes clean on her ten-year job as a housekeeper, why she finds cleaning therapeutic, when she taught her daughter to do laundry and why she has teamed up with Tide purclean to launch its new eco-friendly detergent.

Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado grew up in the family business—the cleaning business. “I come from a housekeeping background. My mom ran a laundry and cleaning company, and from a young age, I would go along with her to help out on odd jobs,” says Furtado. For the Grammy-award winner, lending a hand with the housekeeping turned into her first decade-long job. “I was a professional housekeeper at a hotel for 10 years in Vancouver,” says Furtado.

So, when Tide approached Furtado to help launch purclean—their first bio-based detergent (65% of the ingredients are made using renewable energy sources, such as plants)—the decision was an easy one. This more eco-friendly option is also hypoallergenic, free of dyes, chlorine and phosphates, and is produced in an environmentally-friendly manufacturing site.

Along with using a more sustainable detergent, Furtado limits the amount of loads she does per week and uses energy-saving cold water. “Every little bit counts: I drive a hybrid car so I only have to fill up on gas once a month. I make my own cleaning products with vinegar and water. When I’m spring cleaning or moving, I donate everything from faucets and cabinets to furniture to Habitat for Humanity so they can reuse them instead of putting them in a landfill,” says Furtado.

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Along with raising a teenage daughter and managing a successful music career (she has sold 16 million albums), she is committed to her environmental and humanitarian philanthropic work. This year, she helped host We Day, an event that empowers kids to contribute to positive changes in their communities, as well as acknowledging many who do. She also remains very close to the organization, Free The Children—she has helped raise $1 million dollars for a new all-girls school in Narok in rural Kenya. This Christmas, Nelly will visit the girls at the school.

In March 2018, Furtado will release her seventh album, The Ride. Most of the songs were written outside the studio while doing other things, such as laundry or in a car ride in Kenya during one of her Free The Children missions.

These days, when she’s not travelling, Furtado continues to clean her own house as she finds it puts her in a meditative mood, giving her the opportunity to focus on her music. “It’s part of who I am,” says Furtado.